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Netherlands remains in the hunt for the ICC CWC 2015

Scotland, Afghanistan and the UAE also still a chance for automatic qualification

Netherlands cricket team during an ODI.

Netherlands has kept itself in the running for direct qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after winning its second ODI in the seventh and final round of the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Championship against Canada at King City, Toronto on Thursday.

After the first ODI was declared a no result due to rain on Wednesday, Netherlands recorded a nine-wicket victory over the host to retain a tentative hold on the crucial second position in the competition.

With Ireland having already won the tournament and become the first of two sides to earn an automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Netherlands, Scotland and Afghanistan entered the final round on 15 points each, needing to win maximum points and improve their net run-rates to stay in contention for the second direct qualification spot.

Victory in the second ODI means that Netherlands remains second in the competition, three points ahead of Scotland and Afghanistan, and four points ahead of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, with these three teams yet to play their final round fixtures of the WCL Championship, whether Netherlands can ultimately hang on to second position may not be known until the final match of the tournament.

Should Scotland and Afghanistan secure double wins against Ireland and Kenya, respectively, then both teams will move ahead of Netherlands, and the crucial second position will be determined by net run-rate.

The battle for second place will become even more dramatic if both Scotland and Afghanistan drop points and the UAE wins both its matches against Namibia, to be played on 27 and 29 August in Sharjah. In this scenario, the Emiratis will elbow out both sides and finish second as if points are tied at the end of the round-robin stage the team with the most number of wins finishes in the higher position.

While the top two sides from the Pepsi ICC WCL Championship will qualify automatically for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the bottom six teams will receive a second chance to advance at next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand, when they lock horns with Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Uganda for the final two spots.

The upcoming matches between Ireland and Scotland, UAE and Namibia, and Afghanistan and Kenya will be streamed live at www.icc-cricket.com.

Meanwhile, Canada recorded victory over Netherlands in their four-day, first-class Intercontinental Cup clash that finished on 25 August, also at King City. A measured knock of 150 by 22-year old Ruvindu Gunasekera helped the host to an eight wicket victory, which saw Canada pick up the maximum 20 points and jump from eighth to fifth in the competition.

Ireland is currently leading this competition as well. Twelve points ahead of defending champion Afghanistan, Ireland is guaranteed a spot in the final. The side will finish top of the ladder if it manages to secure nine points or more against Scotland when the two sides meet from 11 to 14 September at Clontarf, Dublin, with the final to be played in Dubai in early December.